Fec Report Details Derailment Damage

Digest

A March 18 train derailment in Boca Raton caused nearly $600,000 damage to tracks, cargo and equipment, according to a report filed with the Federal Railroad Administration.

The damage estimate was the only new disclosure contained in the one-page accident report filed last week by Florida East Coast Railways. Police had at first estimated the damage at more than $3 million.

Eight flatbed cars carrying truck trailers derailed when the southbound freight train was struck by a car that swerved off South Dixie Highway near Southeast Seventh Street.

The cars left the tracks between Southeast 11th and 13th streets, sending the trailers crashing to the ground, and narrowly missing an apartment complex.

The train was traveling 45 mph when it was struck by a 1986 Ford Tempo driven by Eunice M. Roseke, 54, of Boca Raton. Roseke was seriously injured in the crash, but has since been released from the hospital.

Police charged her with drunken and careless driving.

The FEC report notes that the derailment was caused when the Ford struck the 41st car and the engine became entangled beneath the front wheels.